Auditor puts Hurricane Ike damage at A&M Galveston at $12.4 million

Hurricane Ike caused $12.4 million in damage to the Texas A&M University campus at Galveston, the state auditor reported today.

That’s almost $5 million less than what university officials told the Legislature, according to Audior John Keel’s report. Keel said that is because A&M included beach erosion and dock replacement in its hurricane budget requests but they had also put the items in a regular budget request that was given the Legislature before Hurricane Ike occurred.

Keel’s office estimated that $6.7 million of the A&M damage will be paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The audit said there is a remaining $5.7 million in potential cost to the state that will need to be included in House Bill 6, the special legislation to cover hurricane relief.

The audit noted that A&M found temporary housing for 1,165 faculty and students displaced by the hurricane, but said the university also paid $67,000 for 32 apartments that were never used. The relocation cost $3.1 million.